Libertarian Platform in under 2,000 words
=Individual Rights= A Libertarian platform of under two thousand words. :The following is a complete rewrite of under two thousand words. Nearly all the text is copied from the present platform but over eighty percent of the platform text was omitted. Many planks were eliminated entirely since they should not be in a platform. The rewrite is limited to succinct planks stating principles that could be constitutional amendments with only slight rewording. :by Joseph Swyers, Posted February 28, 2006 Proposed Libertarian Platform Preamble As Libertarians, we seek a world of liberty; a world in which all individuals are sovereign over their own lives, have the right to defense of life, liberty, and property, and no one is forced or defrauded into sacrificing his or her values for the benefit of others. 1. Individual Rights and Civil Order No individual, group, or government may initiate force nor perpetrate fraud or misrepresentation against any other individual, group, or government. 2. Freedom and Responsibility Individuals should be free to make choices for themselves and to accept responsibility for the consequences of the choices they make. We believe people must accept personal responsibility for the consequences of their actions. Denial of responsibility fosters irresponsibility. 3. Crime The only justified function of government is the protection of the lives, rights and property of its citizens. We favor the repeal of all federal, state and local laws creating "crimes" without victims. 4. Safeguards for the Criminally Accused Until persons are proven guilty of crimes, they should be accorded full respect for their individual rights. Cases must no longer be treated as "civil" strictly to avoid the due process protections of criminal law. Government must no longer be allowed to seize property for criminal offenses, prior to civil or criminal proceedings. Full restitution must be made for all loss suffered by persons arrested, indicted, tried, imprisoned, or otherwise injured in the course of criminal proceedings against them that do not result in their conviction. When they are responsible, government police employees or agents must be liable for this restitution. Police officers must be prohibited from using excessive force on the disorderly or the criminally accused, handing out what they may consider to be instant punishments on the streets, or using preventive detention and no-knock laws. The judicial system must be reformed to allow criminal defendants and civil parties to a court action a reasonable number of peremptory challenges to proposed judges, similar to their right under the present system to challenge a proposed juror. 5. Justice for the Individual We support restitution for the victim to the fullest degree possible at the expense of the criminal or wrongdoer. We affirm the right of the victim to pardon the criminal or wrongdoer, barring threats to the victim for this purpose. We oppose the prosecution of individuals for exercising their rights of self-defense. 6. Juries We favor all-volunteer juries and urge the assertion of the common-law right of juries to judge not only the facts but also the justice of the law. 7. Government Immunity We oppose the doctrine of "Sovereign Immunity" which holds that the State may not be held accountable for its actions. Individual elected officials and bureaucrats must be held accountable if their actions directly violate the rights of individual citizens. 8. Government and Mental Health We oppose the involuntary subjection of any person to a mental institution or mental treatment. We favor an end to the acceptance of criminal defenses based on "insanity" or "diminished capacity" which absolve the guilty of their responsibility. 9. Freedom of Communication We defend the rights of individuals to freedom of private or commercial communication and publication. Electronic bulletin boards, communications networks, newspapers, directories, file libraries, websites, and other electronic media warrant protection under freedom of speech and freedom of the press. We oppose any abridgment of the freedom of dissent from government through government censorship or regulation of communications media. 10. Freedom of Assembly We defend the rights of individuals to unrestricted freedom of assembly whether physical or virtual. Electronic bulletin boards, communications networks and other virtual assemblies are the functional equivalent of meeting halls where freedom of assembly applies. 11. Freedom of Religion We defend the rights of individuals to engage in or abstain from any religious activities that do not violate the rights of others. Individuals, groups and property shall not be treated differently, have privileges or be denied privileges on the basis of their religion. 12. The Right to Property The owners of property have the full right to control, use, trade, dispose of, defend and enjoy their property without interference or infringement, unless the exercise of their control infringes the valid rights of others. 13. The Right to Privacy The individual's rights to privacy of their selves, identity, property, communications and financial or other records should not be infringed. 14.The Right to Keep and Bear Arms We affirm the right to keep and bear arms and oppose all laws restricting or regulating the ownership, bearing, manufacture, transfer, or sale of firearms, ammunition, chemical deterrents, or other means of defense. 15. Conscription and the Military We oppose any form of compulsory national service. 16. Freedom from Discrimination Individual rights should not be denied, abridged based on sex, wealth, race, color, creed, age, national origin, personal habits, political preference or sexual orientation. 17. Abortion Recognizing that abortion is a very sensitive issue and that people, including libertarians, can hold good-faith views on both sides, we believe the government should be kept out of the question. 18. Families and Children We believe that families should be free from government intrusion, and that parents have the right to raise their children according to their own standards and beliefs. 19. Taxation We support the repeal of the Sixteenth Amendment and other taxes and their replacement with federal, state and local sales taxes totaling no more than ten percent and a federal tariff on imported oil of one hundred percent, the latter to fund national security and defense. 20. Money and Banking We call for the repeal of all regulations of money and banking except to prohibit fraud. Private minting of coins should be allowed so that minting will be open to the competition of the free market. We favor free-market banking, with unrestricted competition among banks and depository institutions of all types. 21. Finance and Capital Investment Free markets should operate unhindered by government regulation, while government should punish fraud, theft and contractual breach without exception. 22. Government Debt We support a constitutional amendment requiring government budgets to be balanced and no debt to exist except during a national or state emergency. Public reporting of government revenue, expenditures, assets and liabilities, including long term liabilities such as payments of future entitlements, should adhere to standard accounting principles. 23. Public Utilities We advocate the termination of government-created franchise privileges. The right to offer services on the market should not be curtailed by law. 24. Energy We oppose all government regulation and control of energy pricing, allocation, and production. 25. Pollution Pollution of other people's property is a violation of individual rights. Strict liability, not government agencies and arbitrary government standards, should regulate pollution. Claiming that one has abandoned a piece of property does not absolve one of the responsibility for actions one has set in motion. We call for a modification of the laws governing such torts as trespass and nuisance to cover damages done by air, water, radiation, noise and other pollution. 26. Consumer Protection Consumer demand rather than legislative mandate should drive consumer safety and protection. We support strong and effective laws against fraud and misrepresentation. However, we oppose paternalistic regulations, which dictate to consumers, impose prices, define standards for products, or otherwise restrict risk-taking and free choice. 27. Education We advocate the complete separation of education and State. Government ownership, operation, regulation, and subsidy of schools and colleges should be ended. 27. Transportation The transportation industry should not be treated differently from any other industry, and should be governed by free markets and held to strict liability. We advocate an end to government regulation of private transit organizations. 29. Jobs and Occupations We seek the elimination of occupational licensure. We support repeal of all laws that impede the ability of any person to find employment. We deplore government-fostered forced retirement, which robs the elderly of the right to work. 30. Health Care We favor restoring and reviving a free market health care system. We advocate a complete separation of medicine from the State. 31. Resource Use Resource management is properly the responsibility and right of the legitimate owners of land, water and other natural resources. We oppose government control of resource use through eminent domain, zoning laws, building codes, rent control, regional planning, urban renewal, or purchase of development rights with tax money. 32. Agriculture Farmers and consumers alike should be free to grow, sell, and buy what they want. We advocate elimination of all government farm programs, including price supports, direct subsidies and all regulation on agricultural production. 33. Social Security Social Security is a bankrupt, immoral pyramid-scheme that has trillions of dollars of unfunded liabilities. In a free society, retirement planning is the responsibility of the individual, not the government. 34. Postal Service We propose allowing free competition in all aspects of postal service. 35. Civil Service The Civil Service system entrenches a permanent and growing bureaucracy and is inherently a system of concealed patronage. The concept of "career bureaucrat" is anathema to true liberty. We promote the Jeffersonian concept of "citizen statesman" and therefore recommend a return to the Jeffersonian principle of rotation in office. 36. Election Laws We call for an end to government regulation of political parties, consistent with First Amendment rights to freedom of association and freedom of expression, and propose electoral systems that are more representative. Add the alternative "none of the above" to all ballots. In order to grant voters a full range of choice in federal, state and local elections, we propose proportional voting systems with multi-member districts for legislative elections and instant runoff voting (IRV) for single winner elections. To avoid fraud and manipulation, electronic voting systems must use a voter verified paper ballot as the ballot of count, recount, audit and record. 37. Self government and Secession People have the right to govern themselves as they see fit. They have the right to form their own governments while in turn accepting no support from the government from which they seceded. 38. Foreign Affairs The United States government should avoid entangling alliances and abstain from foreign quarrels. Intervention by the government in the affairs of other nations is an attempt to impose our values on those nations by force. 39. International Travel and Foreign Investments Any effort to extend the protection of the United States government to U.S. citizens when they or their property fall within the jurisdiction of a foreign government involves potential military intervention. The protection of the foreign investments of U.S. citizens or businesses is an unjust tax-supported subsidy. Our government cannot assume the responsibility of protecting citizens from the consequences of their own conduct while visiting nations outside the United States. 40. World Government We oppose U.S. government participation in any world or international government. We oppose any treaty under which individual rights would be violated. 41. Military Policy Any U.S. military policy should have the objective of providing security for the lives, liberty and property of the American people in the U.S. as inexpensively as possible and without undermining the liberties it is designed to protect. We call for the withdrawal of the U.S. from commitments to engage in war on behalf of other governments. 42. Presidential War Powers We call for the reform of the Presidential War Powers Act to end the President's power to initiate military action, and for the abrogation of all Presidential declarations of "states of emergency." We favor limiting the presidential role as Commander-in-Chief to its original meaning, namely that of the head of the armed forces in wartime. 43. Unowned Resources Individuals have the right to claim unowned resources, both within the jurisdictions of national governments and within unclaimed territory. 44. Space Exploration We oppose all government restrictions upon voluntary, peaceful use of outer space. 45. Omissions Our silence about any other particular government law, regulation, ordinance, directive, edict, control, regulatory agency, activity, or machination should not be construed to imply approval. category:Planks_from_elsewhere